I would like to pray more in the night
time. What is the difference between
Tahajjud and Witr prayer? Can Sunnah
prayers be made aloud and quietly?

Fatwa:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord
of the Worlds. I testify that there is
none worthy of worship except Allah,
and that Muhammad is His slave
and Messenger.

Some jurists define Tahajjud as an
optional night prayer that a Muslim
offers at night after sleeping at the
beginning of the night; some other
jurists define it as optional night prayer
as praying immediately after 'Ishaa'
prayer before going to bed. According
to the latter definition, Tahajjud is
equal to Qiyaam-ul-Lail, but according
to the first definition Tahajjud is more
specific than Qiyaam; as for Witr it is
the odd number of Raka's with which
one concludes his prayers at night
whether after Qiyaam or after 'Ishaa'.
The least number of Raka's to be
considered Witr is one single Raka'h
whereas the highest rank of perfectness
is to pray three Raka's for Witr. This
means that Witr prayer is included in
Tahajjud so it is desirable for a Muslim
who performs Tahajjud at night to finish
his night prayers with Witr no matter
how many Raka's he prayed. Ibn 'Umar,
may Allah be pleased with him, reported
that the Prophet said: " Make Witr
prayer the last of your prayer at
night ." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

The predominant view among Muslim
scholars is that it is a confirmed
Sunnah while some others consider it to
be obligatory, so a Muslim should be
keen to pray it.